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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: accountclosed who wrote (37756)	11/29/1998 7:12:00 PM
From: Tommaso	Respond to of 132070

If I had a lot of debt I would certainly try to get a 15-year straight mortgage at about 6.5% or whatever it is and then swear off any further borrowing. Itemizing taxes brings that interest rate down to less than a typical inflation rate over the last 20 years. I think people are losing their minds over easy credit. Two nights ago I was visiting a friend who had to have a van for his 5-member family. he got a recent model Dodge Caravan for about $15,500. The guy that owned it had to take that money and add another $3,000 to get out of his lease on the van--he wanted a $35,000 sports utility vehicle that had caught his fancy. So I guess whoever that was has got himself into another lease that may be costing him $500 or more a month and he doesn't own anything, whereas my friend owns the Caravan outright. I know graduate students that are paying more to lease a car than to rent an apartment. But a mortgage can actually be a convenience, especially if the payments are automatically deducted from a paycheck, and the mortgage holder takes care of all the taxes and insurance for you. Also, if you can do your own carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work, you can add a great deal of tax-free value and convenience to what you own.